Hayward GalleryCritiques

If you are a fan of Hopper's work, this is a must have. This thing is chocked full of nicely printed plates. Organized in an easy to follow fashion. Love it.

Excellent gallery book for visiting Australia display...

Published on occasion of the exhibition of the same name, which took place at the Hayward Gallery, London, from May 13 - June 27, 1999. This exhibition also toured to Vienna, Bordeaux, Humlebaek, New York and Helsinki.

A special section, 'London on the Move', which looks at the infusion of East Asian culture into contemporary London life, is included in this catalogue.

'Cities on the Move is an evolving body of work, dealing with art, architecture, urbanism, film and writing in relation to East Asian cities. The exhibition does not present a unitary vision of development; it uncovers a plurality of ideas and approaches - ideas that are inevitably circumstantial, conflictual and ephemeral'.

(Abstract from essay by Moshen Mostafavi)

shelved at: 999 : Art

shelved at: 999 : Art

A very nice study and biography of one of my favorite painters, Edward Hopper (1882-1967). I'd read a couple of other books on Hopper, but this one is more thoughtfully organized and has the advantage of complete access to the Whitney Museum of Modern Art, to which Hopper's widow had bequeathed his entire inventory that remained at the time of his death. I hadn't known that when Hopper studied at the New York School of Art, that one of his classmates, and a friend, was another of my favorite artists, Rockwell Kent.

Hopper's style matured throughout his life, but it didn't particularly alter, so the author grouped the paintings by genre. I'm not knowledgeable enough about art to say just why Hopper appeals to me so, but this author (along with others) made a couple of points that I found myself nodding in agreement to. "Recording the drama of sunlight was a lifelong interest". Hopper's best paintings have always fascinated me in how the light plays upon the subjects; one can tell this was an area of deep fascination for the artist. "Summertime" is a prime example, as is Hopper's iconic "Nighthawks".

And the author makes the point that Hopper's people are often studies in isolated contemplation, even when paired with a partner who is studying the contemplative subject. "Office at Night" is a strong example, and vibrant with a sexual tension unusual in Hopper's work. This is the most useful Hopper book I have seen so far.

An excellent exhibition catalogue which can serve as a primer for English readers on the great Catalan port city, 'Homage to Barcelona: The city and its art 1888 - 1936' was edited and produced by Michael Raeburn for the Arts Council of Great Britain, printed at Jolly & Barber LImited, Rugby, Warwickshire, and was published in 1986 by Thames and Hudson Ltd. London, England on the occasion of the exhibition 'Homage to Barcelona' at the Hayward Gallery, London, England organized by the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Ajuntament de Barcelona and the Arts Council of Great Britain.

Showing a full colour photographic detail of ceramic tilework on the finials of La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi in Barcelona, it is Dedicated to Joan Miro (1893 - 1983) and Roland Penrose (1900 - 1984), contains a Forward by Joanna Drew and Andrew Dempsey of the Arts Council of Great Britain, a list of Lenders to the Exhibition, Acknowledgements, an Editor's Note by Michael Raeburn, an Introduction by Marilyn McCully, 20 essays by various authors amply illustrated throughout by black and white and full colour illustrations, a Chronology and the Catalogue.

The essays are listed as follows with their accompanying authors, and page number:
Barcelona, a European City, Isidre Molas, 79
The Universal Exhibition of 1888, Judith Rohrer, 97
Architecture in the emerging metropolis, Oriol Bohigas, 101
The rediscovery of ancient Barcelona, Josep Guitart, 111
Modernista architecture, Ignasi de Sola-Morales, 115
From Montjuic to the world, Francesc Roca, 133
Barcelona and its people, Salvador Giner, 141
Modernista painting, Cristina Mendoza, 149
The art of Noucentisme, Francesc Fontbona, 169
The foreign avant garde in Barcelona, 1912 - 1930, Alicia Suarez, 195
ADLAN and the artists of the Republic, Rosa Maria Subirana, 211
The decorative arts in everyday life, Daniel Giralt-Miracle, 227
Graphic arts in Catalonia, 1888 - 1936, Eliseu Trenc Ballester, 241
Catalan literature between Modernisme and Noucentisme, Alan Yates, 253
Joan Maragall, Five essays translated and with a note by Arthur Terry, 265
Poetry from Modernisme to Noucentisme, J. Vidal Alcover, 269
Theatrical life in Barcelona, 1888 - 1936, Guillem-Jordi Graells, 273,
Musical life in Barcelona, 1888 - 1936, Roger Alier, 277
Not at all modern and very twentieth century, Maria Aurelia Capmany, 285

Monograph Library - shelved at: 757 - Libraries/Museums/Galleries

BR/047

IR/00095